The former India and South Africa head coach Gary Kirsten will work with the England Lions before their one-day series with Pakistan A in January after being hired as a consultant.
The 47-year-old, who helped mastermind India’s World Cup victory in 2011, has agreed to a short-term advisory role, having previously been sounded out by the director of England cricket, Andrew Strauss, in May for the position of head coach before the appointment of Trevor Bayliss.
England Lions play five Twenty20s and five 50-over fixtures against Pakistan A in the United Arab Emirates during December and January, with Kirsten joining the coaching setup of Andy Flower and his assistant Steve Rhodes ahead of the second part of the tour.
Kirsten, who was India head coach from 2008 until their World Cup win on home soil three years later, is the current coach of the Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils, having left his previous international role with his native South Africa two years ago, citing family commitments.
In appointing the former South Africa opener, Strauss has continued a trend of tapping experience from overseas, with the Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene part of the coaching set-up at the start of their current Test series with Pakistan.
The former New Zealand left-armer Daniel Vettori is also scheduled to work with the next generation of English spinners in November’s performance programme in Dubai.
Flower said: “One of the primary objectives of the England performance programme and the England Lions touring schedule is to provide the players with experiences and opportunities that go above what they would get in domestic cricket.
“Being able to call on the likes of Gary Kirsten and Daniel Vettori to support the delivery of the programme and work with the players represents a big part of this objective, and I am delighted that they have agreed to be involved in a consultancy capacity this winter.”
